At the third meeting of the EU-China Connectivity Platform, held on 16 July in Beijing in the margins of the EU-China Summit, the two parties reaffirmed their commitment to transport connectivity on the basis of respective policy priorities, sustainability, market rules and international coordination. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Mobility and Transport and Mr. He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission.

The exchanges focused on:

the policy cooperation based on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) framework and the Belt and Road initiative, involving relevant third countries between EU and China;

cooperation on transport decarbonisation and digitalisation, including in international fora such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO);

cooperation on investment projects based on sustainability criteria, transparency and level-playing field to foster investment in transport between EU and China.

Both sides pointed out that the connectivity of infrastructure is a priority and important foundation for EU-China cooperation and development. The Connectivity Platform has played a unique and positive role in promoting EU-China infrastructure connectivity, enhancing EU-China experience exchanges and cooperation, and contributing to a friendly relationship between the two side. Both sides declared that the Connectivity Platform will continue to focus on policy exchanges, investment and financing cooperation, including on pilot projects and green and smart development.

Moreover, the EU and China declared their will to strengthen the synergies between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Trans-European Transport Network policy and discuss synergies between the respective strategic land and sea corridor planning, covering Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, West Asia and other areas.

Both sides also expressed their will to promote multimodal transport synergies, cooperate to develop green and smart transport infrastructure, deepen the discussion on infrastructure standarization cooperation and promote efficient mobility of people and goods between China and the EU. Moreover, they declared the cooperation on corridor infrastructure development in order to define the most appropriate railway corridors and to improve transport capacity and efficiency, as well as to ensure the proper functioning of key multimodal hubs along the EU-China corridors. For the EU and China it is also important to promote the development of green and low-carbon transport.